Why create a vision for the North West Highlands?

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The NorthWest2045 project has been established by a diverse group of local organisations with a common desire to see a future where our communities thrive economically, socially, and environmentally.  We want our population to grow sustainably, job opportunities to broaden and average salaries to rise.  We think this will require a resilient and diverse economic base which makes the best use of our natural assets while enhancing local skills and opportunities. 

 

We believe creating a collective, long-term vision for the future (to 2045) will give voice to the desires and needs of the people of the North West Highlands and help us work together to make our aspirations reality. This will be critical if we are to meet some of the challenges we face (climate change, Brexit, recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and changes to rural subsidies) in a way that is beneficial to our future prospects.

 

We have many assets to build on: resilient communities and strong community ownership and action; a world class landscape; a range of businesses contributing to the Scotland brand (food & drink, tourism); and abundant natural assets in the marine and land environment. The support of key decisionmakers and agencies in local and national government and private industry will be key, and so we are engaging with them, ready to present our vision to the new Scottish Parliament in the summer.

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The next few weeks will see us engaging as widely as possible with residents from across all the communities of the North West Highlands to create that vision and a set of ideas for action.